In Korea, tap water is subjected to chlorine-based sterilization using sodium hypochlorite. In other words, water is purified first in a water purification plant through chlorine treatment to remove organic compounds as well as to perform sterilization, and then chlorine is further injected to the thus treated water to retain the residual chlorine, thereby preventing diseases mediated by waterborne pathogens.
However, chlorine is one of halogen elements and is a toxic substance for use in oxidants, bleaching agents, disinfecting agents, etc. Chlorine in tap water also reacts with organic compounds to generate organochlorine compounds (environmental hormones) that adversely affect the human health and the environment. Particularly, it reacts with and destroys skin proteins forming the human skin, resulting in skin roughness, skin aging and various types of skin troubles.
Meanwhile, a shower used in a home or a public bath is linked to a faucet via a hose to eject tap water like a fountain. Such a shower generally includes a grip portion equipped with a hose linking port and a shower head portion having multiple water ejection ports. In addition, the chlorine content introduced into a water purification plant is not removed completely but still remains in tap water discharged from a shower. Therefore, direct drinking such tap water gives a bad smell unique to tap water and causes absorption of harmful chlorine into the human body.
Further, chlorine destroys hair proteins as well as skinproteins, resulting in rough hair. It also adversely affects the condition of a scalp and thus hair loss. Atopic dermatitis may be seriously deteriorated by chlorine.
Despite such problems, it is not economic to use water purified by a water purifier in order to filter off the chlorine content. Therefore, there is an imminent need for the solution to overcome such problems.
Accordingly, the residual chlorine in tap water causes dermatitis in children or persons having weak skins. In addition, the chlorine content contained in steam generated when heating tap water is significantly harmful to persons having weak bronchial tubes and lungs. Moreover, such chlorine content adversely affects human health, and for example, damages cells in human hair.